"The Transcendent Dimensions of Study and Teaching": The Pope on the
Purpose of Education | Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. | Ignatius Insight | September 21, 2010"The Transcendent Dimensions of Study and Teaching": The Pope on the
Purpose of Education | Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. | Ignatius Insight | September 21, 2010

"This transcendent dimension of study and teaching was clearly grasped
by the monks who contributed so much to the evangelization of these islands....
It was the monks' dedication to learning as the path on which to encounter the
Incarnate Word of God that was to lay the foundations of our Western culture
and civilization." — Benedict XVI, Address to the World of Catholic Education, St. Mary's University College.

"It is not often that a Pope ... has the opportunity to speak to the
students of all the Catholic schools of England, Wales and Scotland at the same
time. And since I have the chance now, there is something I very much want to
say to you. I hope that among those of you listening to me today there are some
of the future saints of the twenty-first century. What God wants most of all
for each one of you is that you should become holy." — Benedict XVI, Address to Pupils at St. Mary's University
College.

In his English visit, the Holy Father gave two
brief talks to English teachers and students. He was at St. Mary's University College at Twickenham. The first talk
was to the faculty. "The task of a teacher is not simply to impart information
or to provide training in skills intended to deliver some economic benefit to
society; education is not and must never be considered as purely utilitarian."
Right away, Benedict associates himself with the great tradition of a "liberal,"
that is, "freeing" education. The important things are worth knowing for their
own sakes, not simply because they are useful, even though they may be useful.

Education looks to the "whole person." It is about "wisdom." Wisdom,
moreover, is "inseparable from knowledge of the Creator." Wisdom is about how
all things fit together in their causes and relationships. Benedict makes this
affirmation about the Creator in a nation in which leading scientists make
headlines by claiming that they can explain everything without God. They
cannot, of course. They inevitably end up with some variant of something coming
from nothing. They think that because they can understand scientific and
mathematical formulae, they do not need to explain how these formulae came to
be or to be embedded in this cosmos prior to their knowing them.

Benedict recalls the great monastic tradition in English history, which
includes Westminster Abbey itself. "It was only natural that the monastery
should have a library and a school." One might add that libraries and schools
were "natural" in a religion that searched for the reason of things, including
divine things insofar as it could comprehend the ways and nature of God. In a
remarkable sentence, the Pope adds: "It was the monks' dedication to learning
as the path on which to encounter the Incarnate Word of God that was to lay the
foundation of our Western culture and civilization." Along the path of learning
we encounter words. We see that they refer to things that we identify. The what
things are have their origins in word. This
thing is called this, that thing
is called that. What things are
refers to a beginning Word in which all things are made.

Benedict acknowledges the missionary work of many religious orders. "Religious
have a unique contribution to offer to this apostolate above all through lives
consecrated to God and through faithful, loving witness to Christ, the supreme
Teacher." Obviously, those who do not know need to be taught. God in His
providence passes on to us what He has revealed of Himself through teaching,
not by coercion or an ever-changing new revelation.

"The content of teaching should always be in conformity with Church
doctrine." This conformity is stressed as a criterion and guarantee of truth.
This is orthodoxy. "The life of faith needs to be the driving force behind
every activity in the school, so that the Church's mission may be served
effectively, and the young people may discover the joy of entering into
Christ's 'being for others.'" We are persons who relate to others in our very
being. We do this though truth and service.

In his talk to students, the Pope, rather strikingly, simply tells them
that they should be "holy." Imagine that! We presume that these English
students do not scratch their heads and ask themselves "What does it mean to be
holy?" The pope does not talk of justice or of learning, but of holiness. The
pope tells the students that God loves them, more than they could ever imagine.
But the pope admits: "Perhaps some of you have never thought about this before."
We can well imagine.

The pope explains what he means. All have had people they look up to: sports
figures, entertainers, and so forth. "What are the qualities in others that you
would most like to have yourselves? What kind of person would you really like
to be?" The pope tells them not to be content with "second best." Many things
are good, including having money, having a profession. Such things may make us
famous but do they make us happy? Happiness is something we all want, but one
of the great tragedies in this world is that so many people never find it."
Why do they not find it? "Because they look for it in the wrong places. They
key to it is very simple—true happiness is to be found in God."

It takes "courage" to place our hope in God above all others. Again,
Benedict calls on everyday experience. We want our friends to reciprocate our
interest in them. "God wants your friendship." But we have to control our
habits that can prevent us from responding to Him. We need to become concerned
with those who need us. "All the work you do is placed in the context of the
growing friendship with God, and all that flows from that friendship."

Things fit together. "Always remember that every subject you study is
part of a bigger picture. Never allow yourselves to become narrow. The world
needs good scientists, but a scientific outlook becomes dangerously narrow if
it ignores the religious or ethical dimension of life, just as religion becomes
narrow if it rejects the legitimate contribution of science to our
understanding of the world." A school should provide a rounded education and a
Catholic school should "help all students become saints."

While sundry English protesters sought to identify the pope with every
aberration known to man, the pope simply told students to become saints. There
is a transcendent dimension to our lives. Learning leads to words, to their
meaning. Words lead to the Word, their origin in the heart of the Godhead, the
meaning of things. The foundation of our civilization is found in the learning
that knows that man did not bring himself out of nothing. It lies in the wisdom
that knows we are created in the Word.

We are images and likenesses of God. God is holy. We are simply asked,
even in England, to be what we already are created to be.